Is it okay for someone who looks like me to Stand With Rand?

Last night a Facebook notification showed up on my screen. A friend had posted a picture to my wall.

What I saw disgusted me.

The commenter said, “[Rand Paul] is pretty much regarded as a racist, sexist, a**hole along with the rest of his party.”

Because I am a black woman, the commenter said I was foolish for liking Rand Paul.

I identify as a constitutional conservative. The most important political issue to me is the application of the Constitution. That’s not going to change in 2016.

I have done my research on each potential candidate. Paul may not be the perfect candidate for some and I don’t agree with him on everything. But he is definitely the most liberty minded candidate in our two-party race. That’s important to me.

But according to the post I was reading, my love for the Constitution is not supposed to be my primary issue.

Social problems are.

I am supposed to support the candidate who panders to minorities. I am supposed to support the candidate who places women above men in a misguided approach to equality. I am supposed to support the candidate who offers free contraception. I am supposed to support the candidate that speaks softly to me in idealistic sweet nothings, telling me only what I want to hear, thinking I am not smart enough to care about the state of our economy.

But despite my color, gender, economic standing, sexual preference or any other imaginable category, I refuse to let the world define me by of what they see on the outside. That’s something progressives always insist on doing.

I want no part of it.

Black Americans were once told we could not sit at the front of the bus or drink from whites only water fountains. Today we are often told that we do not possess the freedom of thought.

I choose to support the candidate who believes the federal government should have limited involvement in the economy, a strong but more reasonable national defense and who believes in leaving the powers not delegated to Washington to the people and the states respectively. I will not deny a party that has historically fought for my personhood, my right to vote, and my right to protect my life, liberty, and property.

Many friends and other supporters addressed the disgusting post. People defended my right to think for myself. People used reason and history to show where the poster was mistaken.

Would you rather be a part of a movement where you are afraid to be different, or would you prefer a movement that embraces those differences?

In 2016, I will choose liberty and stand with Rand. If you believe in a small government, transparency, criminal justice reform, the free market, and fairness in all aspects, I encourage you to do the same.